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Civil liberties

December 20, 2008

Just a few notes from the blogosphere ... my essay on how red-state expats ought to support their home state Democratic parties is featured this morning (Saturday, December 20) on the politics front page at The Huffington Post. (Here's a direct link, too. Please send it to Idaho friends and family who've moved to more progressive climes.)

Speaking of MountainGoat, MG and Tara from The Political Game have teamed up to launch a Zeb Bell page to chronicle the most egregious utterings of Idaho's own wingnut radio host and his "festering refuge for hate speech." It's already starting to get some coverage in the national blogosphere. You'll find all the info you need to take Bell (and his advertisers) to task for his racist, homophobic, xenophobic, theocratic crap. Have at it.

Finally, a reminder: the Idaho Democratic Party is interested in seeing independent, grassroots watchblogs established in legislative districts represented by some of the state's most regressive Republicans. If you'd like to help with this effort, shoot me an email at julie@idaho-democrats.org and I'll get you into the loop.

August 12, 2008

It won't win any Oscars, and it has its share of flaws. But for political junkies - and anyone who still believes a single vote can make a difference - the new film Swing Vote is a worthy diversion for a 90+ August day. I liked this fairy tale because it showed how, deep down, each of us cares about our country; how candidates from both parties can be honorable and decent; and how the media can sometimes let the truth win over the facts.

The film is nonpartisan, poking fun at both Democrats and Republicans in equal measure. Kevin Costner - playing the lead character, Bud - gives a speech at the end in which he talks about the importance of being bold in our vote and looking for a true leader. Fans of both Barack Obama and John McCain could read that to mean their guy this fall. (Costner himself says that, in real life, he hasn't yet decided who'll get his vote November 4.)

The film's only real message, though, is that citizenship is important. If you're reading this blog, you understand that. But if you have friends or family who think voting isn't worth their time, take them along to see this movie.

June 27, 2008

I don't often cite, much less link to, reactionary Republican blogger Clayton Cramer, but you can almost hear the fireworks going off in his Horseshoe Bend-area backyard over the Supremes' new interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. He's earned a right to crow, since the court cited his work in its ruling. And you can just imagine the sort of fireworks someone like Clayton Cramer must have stashed away in his home armory.

I gotta say: None of MY writing has ever come up in a Supreme Court case. Maybe when John Edwards hits the bench, though ...

Cramer is not the only one celebrating. Other reaction in Idaho - a state where gun violence is rare - appears rock solid behind the high court. Democratic candidate for Congress Walt Minnick issued this terse statement within minutes of Thursday's ruling: "It's about damn time. As a gun owner, outdoors enthusiast and sportsman, I applaud the court's protection of our 2nd Amendment rights."

What do I think? I think Chicago Tribune columnist Dawn Turner Trice gets it right, noting that on Thursday ...

... five members of the court edited the 2nd Amendment. In essence, they said: Scratch the preamble, only 14 words count.

In doing so, they have curtailed the power of the legislatures and the city councils to protect their citizens.

And they say Democrats are the ones who want activist judges. But as Minnick's statement shows, Democrats can no longer be painted with broad brushstrokes as the enemies of anyone, anywhere, to own a handgun, or 100.

June 25, 2008

Bryan Fischer of the Idaho Values Alliance has gone off the deep end in his endless efforts to paint homosexuals as a predatory fringe element in society, rather than a robust (about 8-10 percent) and overwhelmingly law-abiding segment of our population. The Idaho-based LGBT blog PrideDepot has been following Fischer's fearmongering - and how the traditional media falls for it, time after time after time - in recent posts including here (Monday) and here (Tuesday).

June 18, 2008

It's been about a week since I got the first email about the racist remarks on Zeb Bell's radio show on KBAR (or is it KKKBAR?) in Idaho's Mini-Cassia area. As soon as I heard about the incident, I remembered a letter to the editor that I wrote to The Times-News in Twin Falls many years ago, probably in 2000 or 2001. I found a copy yesterday in a file of past letters to the editor I'd saved. Here it is: My husband tells me he was listening to an AM radio talk show one recent morning when a caller suggested a hunting season on homosexuals. The show’s hosts both agreed with the caller. We are not sure which station this was, only that its hosts were both men and the station aired commercials for businesses in the Mini-Cassia area.

It’s outrageous that such hateful speech can be heard over our local airwaves, even if the comment is made in jest, which my husband says this was. Yes, free speech is protected by the First Amendment, but this kind of bigoted babble builds and perpetuates a cultural climate in which hate crimes take place.

I can only imagine the reactions of out-of-state motorists who might have been listening to that show while passing through our area. "Sheesh," I can almost hear them mutter. "Idaho really is full of kooks." Most local listeners neither condone prejudice nor find it funny. Radio advertisers might want to monitor more closely the content of shows they sponsor.

JULIE FANSELOWTwin Falls

Was that an early version of Bell's show? It's impossible to know, but if I had to place a bet ...

Meanwhile, if you haven't been following this saga, I've put some links below. And let's just say (as Tara does here) that as much as Bell might like it to be, hate speech is not a partisan issue, nor is he the victim in this story. I am sure that most Republicans are as sickened by racist and homophobic rhetoric as Independents and Democrats are. Then again, isn't it interesting that none of Idaho's Republican bloggers have weighed in on this matter?

Update 1 p.m.: Of course, there's more. One e-mailer reminds me that it's important to let people know that Frosty Wooldridge, a frequent guest on Bell's show (and perpetrator of last week's remarks) also works with none other than former KKK poobah David Duke.

And here is a list of sponsors of Bell's program. If you live in the Magic Valley, please contact them and respectfully say you'd like to see them withdraw their support for Bell's show.

June 12, 2008

You know, I just think they've been right all along - so why fight it?

Seriously, on behalf of my fellow Boise Democrats, welcome to the 2008 Idaho Democratic Convention. I won't be with you - I'm in Denver on a business trip - but I am there in spirit. Have fun and get ready to kick some GOP butt! (Thanks for the video, Dale ...)

May 02, 2008

Guess what, Idaho? Blackwater wants to train our cops. Yes, that Blackwater. Marc Stewart of the Coeur d'Alene Presswrote this week:
The North Carolina-based company is negotiating a contract with the
Idaho Peace Officer Standards & Training Academy to provide space
and instruction to law enforcement personnel. ... Sheriff Rocky Watson expressed concern that Blackwater, which has
big military contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense, partnering
with Idaho POST will create the wrong impression with the public.

"The perception that our law enforcement officers will be trained by
mercenaries is a problem," Watson said. "Our jobs are totally
different. We're not paramilitary. The perception is important to our
customers."

Blackwater officials strongly maintain that no military training will take place at the facility here. ... The company has faced media scrutiny about its role in Iraq. Blackwater is one of three big contractors providing security services to key U.S. personnel. DynCorp., and Triple Canopy also have employees deployed there.

Blackwater personnel are accused of gunning down 17 people, including women and children last September in Iraq. The FBI is investigating claims made by witnesses that Blackwater guards shot and killed without provocation.

Blackwater isn't winning any popularity contests in other locations
where it has sought to open up shop. Calitics, a California
blog, is packed with posts
on how a Blackwater plan to do terrorism response training for the U.S.
Navy just three blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border is meeting with
strong resistance from local residents ... this just months after voters in
nearby Potrero, CA, recalled all the pro-Blackwater planning board members in
their small town when the contractor tried to establish a base there.

From the news account above, it appears that Kootenai County Sheriff Rocky Watson is appropriately concerned about Blackwater's image and the damage its presence could do to Idaho's reputation and that of our law enforcement officers. Don't back down, Sheriff Watson. The more people know about Blackwater, the blood on its hands, its ties to religious zealots, and its shaky finances, the more they will come to see that it has no business meddling in government affairs - on any level. Contact POST executive director Jeff Black and Gary Tolleson of Idaho POST's North Idaho office and tell them that you think outsourcing Idaho's police training to Blackwater is a bad idea.

April 24, 2008

Greetings from Connecticut, where I'm attending (and live blogging) Everyday Democracy's Communities Creating Racial Equity Learning Exchange. I usually only read USA Today when I'm on the road, but it was interesting to see Boise showcased on its front page Tuesday in a story about refugees resettling in Boise, of all places.

Boise actually got two mentions on Page 1; the second was in an article about how new air quality standards will affect many cities this year. It's ironic that a refugee quoted in the other article praised Boise's clean air. Better than Baghdad's, I suppose, but he clearly hasn't been through a Boise summer smog yet.

April 20, 2008

I think Dan Popkey did a nice job today, in the Statesman; discussing the work of two Boise lawyers. When you have an honest commitment to the law and to the Constitution then you know you will not be taking just the easy cases.

David Nevin is a hard worker - but not just in the court room. He is willing to help throw some chairs open to make an event successful etc. I think it speaks a lot to the character of who he is and how he works. Keeping his eye on the big picture, while noticing the details.

I hope that people will support Nevin and Scott McKay as they move forward with this large and important case. BUT I also hope people remember that it all really does come back to the fact that everyone deserves a defense...

I am reminded of the quote of where you stand in the hard times ... not just the easy ones that matter.

April 04, 2008

When U2 recorded this song, "Pride (In the Name of Love)" back in the 1980s, Bono sang, "Early morning, April 4, shot rang out in the Memphis sky ..." It was actually 6:01, and Bono often corrects himself when he sings the lyric now (such as in the recent "U23D" film).

I've been blogging about Dr. King all this week and last on my day job. As I wrote today, the fact that the new NYT/CBS Times poll shows that 81 percent of Americans think we are on the wrong track also means that people are ready for change ... more than ready, in fact.

Did you read Leonard Pitts' amazing story about the Memphis sanitation workers' strike? The Idaho Statesman ran every word today, starting above the fold on page 1 and taking up an entire page inside. It was riveting. You can read the original here. I have to say that as I read some of these passages about Memphis in 1968, I found myself thinking about Idaho in 2008:

'Anti-communism was just a huge layer over the white population at that time in Memphis. In the first negotiation that [union organizer] Bill Lucy had with them, Mayor Loeb brings up the communist issue and the war in Vietnam. [Lucy] was dumbfounded and he said, `What did that have to do with anything?' ''
The men were talking about raises. About a place to shower the filth off before they went home. About getting paid for time worked. About having a place to urinate. The mayor was talking communism.
In the minds of white conservatives, says Honey, ``If you stood up for civil rights, you were automatically a communist.''

Remind you of any modern-day Idaho legislators? What's scarier is the idea that for every Idaho lawmaker who will write such thoughts, there are several more who think them.

Here in mostly white, retro Idaho, many of us don't have much of a chance to see what it's like to be young and black or brown in the Bronx in 2008. The video below arrived in my email today from the Obama campaign. It's long ... 13 minutes or so ... but it demonstrates the fact that we have traveled far as a country since 1968. Of course, it's been said that "Idaho is what America was." For the sake of these kids and our own, let's see what we can do to change that.